Lanek didn’t hesitate to push his new ability to its limits and began to pull as many spheres as he could from his pouch. In the end, he was able to have a small swarm of eight circling him when he activated [Mass Driver]. As soon as the skill activated, he concentrated on targeting multiple objects, mostly a few trees and stones scattered around the grasslands. The second he designated a target, one of the spheres would automatically align itself. He was surprised that he didn’t have to consciously track his targets or remaining projectiles, a simple countdown had appeared in his vision that appeared to be his ammo count. As for the targets, each one he designated had a faint purple outline that he assumed was only visible to him.
Before firing off the projectiles, he reached into his pouch to see if he could increase his ammo count by simply holding more spheres. Unfortunately, it seemed like this wouldn’t be possible as the count remained at eight. Fair enough, time to train even more. I want a swarm of the damn things. Screw being a mobile arsenal, this turns me into mobile ARTILLERY.
He confirmed that none of his projectiles would put his allies in danger then proceeded to fire every projectile at once. Lanek fell to his knees wheezing as all but five points of mana was ripped from him. Maximilian nuzzled him in concern, but Lanek barely noticed as he stared at the landscape ahead of him. Every target had been split in half or shattered before the spheres had punched into the ground all around. Only a few of the spheres had failed to penetrate the targets, but those were the targets that had been fully obliterated as they took the full kinetic force of the sphere.
It took him a moment to figure out why those ones had failed to penetrate the tree or stone that had been their targets. Oh, some of those spheres were made of wood! They must have exploded on impact rather than pierce. Shit, this is going to take a lot of experimentation to get just right. I need to see about making these things air burst or explode on impact to limit collateral damage. Using this inside of Caelis would definitely kill some stuff, but it would also rip structures apart after passing through the enemy.
Suddenly, Lanek smiled as a thought occurred to him. He wouldn’t have to worry about collateral damage too much at sea, which meant that he could unleash its full force against any sea monsters that he saw. On top of that, it made it more likely that he could bring Liv’s people back to Caelis via Ashport provided he could find a ship and convince her people to take the risk.
I need to focus on gear next. With my mana depleted, it’ll take me two days to fully replenish it. That’s way too steep. Lanek thought mournfully, but he still wasn’t willing to start utilizing cores again.
He turned to find Liv staring at him, mouth hanging open. Chuckling at her awkward reaction, he explained what he had learned, what it could mean for their return journey, and how expensive the spell was to cast.
“Yeah, that’s going to be rough. Not just getting kitted up with mana gear, but also convincing my people to go anywhere near the ocean. I know they would love to return to the seas, but they all have memories of losing loved ones to it and you’d be asking them to risk the children and the elderly on that trip as well." Liv said with a heavy sigh. "I don’t know if you can do it. It’s already going to be pretty difficult to get them to leave our homeland, but this may be too much to ask.”
“Fair enough. It was just a thought and there is a good chance that I won’t have this spell ready to use frequently enough to keep them safe anyway. Until I’m satisfied with its performance, I’m not willing to ask anyone to risk traveling by sea.” Lanek said.
“I figured, just letting you know that they aren’t going to be easy to convince either way.” Liv responded. “So, what are you going to do now that you’ve got this spell?”
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“I’m still going to need to train up [Telekinesis], but it won’t be my full focus. I’ll need to join you and the furballs for some hunting. Even though the furballs have been bringing me reward stones while I’ve been practicing, I’m going to need a lot more. I think I can get some gear tonight, but I won’t be able to get any enchantments on it quite yet.”
“Well, it shouldn’t be too hard to get you more stones, we’ve found plenty to hunt while you’ve been practicing. Pharaoh thinks there may be some kind of stronghold or den around here, we’ve seen signs of large groups moving about.” Liv explained.
“Uh, this might sound like a stupid question…” Lanek began while gesturing at the open grassland all around them. “Where? There doesn’t seem to be any way for a stronghold or anything like that to be hidden out here with this field of view.”
“That’s the issue. We don’t know what they are, only see signs of their passage in the trampled grass. If they are small, like goblins or kobolds, then there is a good chance that their den is underground. On the other hand, if it is something like a clan of orcs, then they could live on the outskirts of the grasslands and only enter to hunt.”
“Explain, please. I feel like this is important knowledge to have.” Lanek requested.
“Sure, and you’re right, it is important. Goblins or kobolds are ambushers by nature and prefer not to travel too far from their dens, so if they are in the grasslands then their den should be as well." Liv explained. "However, orcs have some serious stamina. Those big bastards can run all day and still be in fighting shape when they arrive. As a result, their hunting grounds are much larger and they are more willing to travel long distances to get what they want.”
“I see… Thanks. Another question, though. What if it’s something else?” Lanek asked.
“Then your guess is as good as mine. I’m not from around here or this type of terrain, so I don’t know what kind of monsters might live here. Hell, for all I know, it could be giant lizards, bugs, or some type of mutated animal.”
“Well, shit.”
“Yeah, that’s about the gist of it. So, still want to go hunting?” Liv asked.
Lanek nodded. “Let’s go inland a bit more and see if we can spot anything to the west.”
As they prepared to head out, Pharaoh landed on Maximilian’s head and stopped them. “Wrong way, guys. I found them, they are to the east, on the coast. They look like kind of like skinny orcs, but I’ve never seen orcs with blue skin before. I tried to get close enough to identify them, but something detected me and started throwing spells at me.”
Lanek looked at Liv in concern. “Any idea what we might be dealing with here?”
“Unfortunately, yeah. One question, did you see a ship nearby, Pharaoh?” Liv asked.
“Yes, but it was pulled up on the beach and had big holes in it.”
“Sounds like we’re dealing with sea trolls. My village fought off one of their raids a few years ago. They show up every now and then to capture people, most likely to eat. That’s the rumor, at least. We’ve never met someone that escaped them, so we aren’t entirely sure what happens to those they capture." Liv explained.
Liv turned back to Pharaoh before continuing. "You were probably attacked by a priest, Pharaoh. Every troll raiding party has a priest as either its leader or second in command. The priest is probably why they aren’t killed by the monsters in the deep ocean, but that’s just a guess.”
“How dangerous are these priests?” Lanek asked.
“Very. A sea troll priest has a lot of water-based attack spells, especially near the ocean. But, like the shamans back in Caelis, their main strength is making their allies stronger. This isn’t going to be an easy fight, these bastards are smarter than what you’ve fought so far.”
“Can we avoid them? It seems like the smart play if they are that dangerous.”
Liv shook her head. “No, they likely know we are here now, especially after they detected Pharaoh. I wouldn’t be surprised if the priest has already divined our location. We’ll need to deal with them since the priest can find us easily.”
“Dammit. Let’s keep going west, then. I doubt they can catch us while we’re mounted.” He continued after Liv nodded in confirmation. “Great, then we get away from the ocean and rest until I at least have some of my mana back. Right now I can’t even use my [Splintering Dart] spell without passing out. I need time to rest.”
“Got it, follow me. I’ll make sure we avoid any fights until you recover.” Pharaoh proclaimed, taking the lead.